Archery bows are carefully tuned for optimal weight, size, torque, dampening, and other mechanical characteristics. Skilled archers take advantage of finely controlling the forces and moments induced in the bow as an arrow is launched in order to improve comfort and consistency.
The hand grip is one part of the bow that can affect its feel and the forces at work on the bow, arrow, and archer. If an archer grips a bow too tightly, tension in the archer's bow hand or arm may cause the bow to rotate when the bowstring is released. A thick or sticky grip increases hand-to-bow contact which increases the chance that the archer's hand will torque the riser during the shot and create inconsistency during shooting, negatively impacting accuracy. Some archers take lengths to avoid these problems, even to the extent of removing a grip entirely, but this decreases comfort, dampening, and insulation of the riser and is not usually a desirable option.
Conventional hand grips have either been integrated with the riser or have been modularly attachable by sliding over and fastening to the outer surface of the handle riser. An integrated hand grip provides stability and rigidity to the bow, but it also limits the archer's ability to customize or change the grip for a desired draw length, grip angle, or grip size. This means that the archer has less control over the bow if it is not designed with his or her hand in mind.
Attachable grips that slide over a portion of the riser are limited by shape and size due to the stress and flex characteristics of the riser design. As material is removed to allow alignment and attachment of the grip parts, the flex and material stresses in the riser are increased and can have a negative impact on the overall shooting experience of the bow. Attachable grips also typically produce a larger and wider grip which provides a wider base for hand contact and can therefore increase the grip pressure and torque applied to the bow by the hand. This increased torque can cause poor tuning and arrow flight as well as inconsistent accuracy. Therefore, there is a need for improvements in existing bow hand grips.